I have other, more serious books I've finished, but I want to give them serious, lengthy reviews. Graduate school gets in the way, of course.
Oh, well.
Marvel comics:
Essential Ghost Rider vol. 1 & Essential Werewolf by Night vol. 1: Marvel loves me! (well, maybe not me specifically). The Essential volumes are great - low priced phonebook sized Black and White reprints of Bronze and Silver age comics. Since this is October, they're reprinting their more "horrific" super heroes. Ghost Rider is my favorite character, and Werewolf by Night I like because of the affinity with my last name (and the fact it's well written stuff).
Marvel Milestones: Blade, Man-Thing and Satana: In keeping with this month’s horror theme, this reprints classic tales of the titular characters. Fun stuff.
Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur #1: Independent comics creators take on Marvel's Monsters from the brief period before the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man debuted. Here, the Hulk battles Devil Dinosaur, and much hilarity ensues. Plus it reprints the first appearance of the Hulk! (and it's not the green skinned dude! This Hulk was a space alien that tried to take over the world).
Marvel Monsters: Where Monsters Dwell #1: Tremble in fear at the Walla Walla Bing Bang! I haven't laughed this much in a long time. More silver age monstery goodness by more independent comics creators who normally wouldn’t go near a Marvel comic.
Marvel Knights 4 #23: The Impossible Man (a green guy who can shape shift at will, but makes a popping sound while doing it) shows up, and the writer toys with breaking the fourth wall. A light-hearted read that doesn't quite live up to its premise, though perhaps the second part of the story next month will be better.
Exiles #71: A good read that gives the Exiles another reason to go hopping around the multiverse. The ending seems a bit anti-climatic, but that's because it's dependent on the ending of another comic this month (House of M #7). My budget doesn't allow for mega-crossovers, so I felt a little lost when it all wrapped up.
Mega Morphs #4: Fun little comic based on a toy line. I bought it because Ghost Rider appears in it, even though there is no good reason for him to appear here (other than he has a toy in the toy line).
Ghost Rider #2: Garth Ennis on cruise control. It's basically a tale from his Hellblazer run, but with Ghost Rider as the protagonist. Ennis has also obviously not read any Ghost Rider comics since the early 70s, and is relying on his vague memories of 30 year old comics. The art shimmers and amazes, but the tale is only typical Ennis.
The Incredible Hulk #87: Peter David's second (or is it third?) swan song on this title. No one else writes the Hulk better - mainly because Peter David realizes the Hulk is NOT a super-hero, but rather an egotistical time bomb.
DC/Wildstorm:
JSA #78: A bit more comprehensible, but I'm getting annoyed at all the Infinite Crisis tie-ins. Not having enough money to buy the approximately 45 comics this month that are a part of that mega-event, I feel lost (though not as lost as I was last issue).
Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles #1: I am a bit of a Robotech geek, but this has me lost. I recognize some of the characters, but I have no idea what's going on. I guess this will appeal to only hard-core Robotechers.
Dark Horse:
The Curse of Dracula: A bit more "mature" in content than I would've liked, but a nice little take on the Dracula mythos that, while not totally original, at least has enough energy to carry it through this thin little trade paperback collection.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Monday, October 03, 2005
Catching up - last week's comics
Graduate school comes first!
Marvel Comics:
Ultimate Iron Man #4: Orson Scott Card writes a comic book! Despite some similarities to his other work (good child genius fights psychopathic child genius) this is a well told tale. This issue is the best one so far, with the stakes clearly amped up, and with the Iron Man armor finally taking shape.
Fantastic Four #531: Haven't I already seen this on Babylon 5? I mean, JMS is a great writer and all that, but haven't we already sang this song and done this dance a few too many times?
Hulk: Destruction #3: The Hulk (well, Bruce Banner) finally arrives, after 3 issues of backstory on the abomination. Methinks he artist needs to work on his interpretation of the script. In one scene, the art made me think Mercy (the lady) was trying to seduce her boss, yet the dialogue indicated she was upset because she found out she had a terminal illness and not long to live, so her boss was offering her the chance to undergo crazy, weirdo experiments to try and cure it. Bizarre dichotomy.
Defenders #3: Okay, DeMatteis and Giffen are funny guys, but male rape is hardly a joke. Yeah - it's the Hulk getting raped, but still - they'd never get away with this if was the Hulk raping Umar. But when Umar rapes the Hulk, it's a barrel of laughs, I guess.
[Of course, now that I think about it, male rape is a joke, apparently. In The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, Matt gets raped several times and the narrative (as well as many other characters in the tale) regards it as a joke. I get it - men getting raped is comic gold!]
Daredevil #77: Don't you just hate it when you're getting "alone time" with your wife, and then several of your half naked, drop dead gorgeous ex-girlfriends show up? Nope, neither do I. But I'm guessing Daredevil does. Oh, yeah - there's something about the Kingpin in here too.
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005 #1: A quick tour of all the "alternative" universes in the Marvel Megaverse. Useful for the newbie who wants to understand what the heck is going on and for the old time fan who needs to refresh his/her memory.
IDW comics:
Angel #4: This series started out strong, but this was a weak, confusing issue. Here's hoping the conclusion will be better - Especially since it looks more and more likely comics will be the only place to get Whedon approved post-TV series Angel tales.
Marvel Comics:
Ultimate Iron Man #4: Orson Scott Card writes a comic book! Despite some similarities to his other work (good child genius fights psychopathic child genius) this is a well told tale. This issue is the best one so far, with the stakes clearly amped up, and with the Iron Man armor finally taking shape.
Fantastic Four #531: Haven't I already seen this on Babylon 5? I mean, JMS is a great writer and all that, but haven't we already sang this song and done this dance a few too many times?
Hulk: Destruction #3: The Hulk (well, Bruce Banner) finally arrives, after 3 issues of backstory on the abomination. Methinks he artist needs to work on his interpretation of the script. In one scene, the art made me think Mercy (the lady) was trying to seduce her boss, yet the dialogue indicated she was upset because she found out she had a terminal illness and not long to live, so her boss was offering her the chance to undergo crazy, weirdo experiments to try and cure it. Bizarre dichotomy.
Defenders #3: Okay, DeMatteis and Giffen are funny guys, but male rape is hardly a joke. Yeah - it's the Hulk getting raped, but still - they'd never get away with this if was the Hulk raping Umar. But when Umar rapes the Hulk, it's a barrel of laughs, I guess.
[Of course, now that I think about it, male rape is a joke, apparently. In The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, Matt gets raped several times and the narrative (as well as many other characters in the tale) regards it as a joke. I get it - men getting raped is comic gold!]
Daredevil #77: Don't you just hate it when you're getting "alone time" with your wife, and then several of your half naked, drop dead gorgeous ex-girlfriends show up? Nope, neither do I. But I'm guessing Daredevil does. Oh, yeah - there's something about the Kingpin in here too.
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005 #1: A quick tour of all the "alternative" universes in the Marvel Megaverse. Useful for the newbie who wants to understand what the heck is going on and for the old time fan who needs to refresh his/her memory.
IDW comics:
Angel #4: This series started out strong, but this was a weak, confusing issue. Here's hoping the conclusion will be better - Especially since it looks more and more likely comics will be the only place to get Whedon approved post-TV series Angel tales.
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